Braves hit three homers in beating Phils

Tuesday

Apr 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM

ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman drove in three runs with three hits, including the first of three Atlanta home runs Monday night, and the Braves beat Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 on opening day.

ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman drove in three runs with three hits, including the first of three Atlanta home runs Monday night, and the Braves beat Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 on opening day.

Dan Uggla and Justin Upton, making his Braves debut, also homered for Atlanta, which led National League teams with 49 in spring training.

Hamels (0-1) struggled in his first opening day start. He gave up five runs on seven hits, including the three homers, with five strikeouts and one walk in five innings. The three homers allowed matched his high from last season.

WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper homered in his first two at-bats, Stephen Strasburg retired 19 batters in a row at one stretch, and the defending NL East champion Washington Nationals opened the season with a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday.

For Strasburg, this marked the start of what should be his first full season in the majors, with zero pitch or inning limits. The All-Star ace was dominant against a trade-depleted Marlins lineup that features Giancarlo Stanton and little else.

PITTSBURGH — Jeff Samardzija struck out nine in eight nearly flawless innings and the Cubs held on for a victory over the Pirates.

The right-hander allowed just two hits and walked one as the Chicago won on opening day for the first time since 2009. Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer and Wellington Castillo added an RBI double for the Cubs.

MILWAUKEE — Jonathan Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a victory over Colorado, ruining the first game for new Rockies manager Walt Weiss.

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw launched his first career home run to break a scoreless tie in the eighth inning, then finished off a four-hitter Monday that led the Los Angeles Dodgers over the San Francisco Giants 4-0 on opening day.

Kershaw struck out seven and walked none.

The former Cy Young winner began the day as a career .146 batter with only one extra-base hit in 261 at-bats.

CINCINNATI — Chris Iannetta hit a solo homer and a bases-loaded single in the 13th inning, powering the Angels to a 3-1 victory over the Reds in the majors' first interleague season opener.

MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Verlander won on opening day for the first time in six tries, pitching five shutout innings at frosty Target Field and sending the defending American League champion Tigers past the Twins on opening day.

CHICAGO — Chris Sale outpitched James Shields, Tyler Flowers homered and the Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City in their season opener.